About

ASIFA San Francisco Chapter

ASIFA-San Francisco is the oldest and foremost Bay Area organization for the animation community, with over 300 members ranging from seasoned professionals to students and fans. As a branch of the international organization, membership in ASIFA-SF provides these great benefits: Monthly events and screenings that play to overflowing audiences. These include an annual career night with leading animation houses, such as Pixar, ILM, Wild Brain, and PDI; annual open screenings; festival screenings; industry close-ups; and other special events. Many events are held at the Exploratorium’s McBean Auditorium. Monthly newsletter (usually 8+ pages), chock full of the latest industry buzz, happenings, and reviews, with a focus on the Bay area. Sorry, the current newsletter is in hard copy only, and mailed only to members. Archived copies are available online. Free link from our Web site (you’re on it), to your site (see Web Gallery); great for self-promotion and visibility Opportunity to have your animation considered for showcasing on the Splash page of our Web site Through our newsletter and Web site, alerts on jobs, screenings, festivals, and classes Networking with other members of the animation community

For a one-year, local membership, send $25 to: ASIFA-SF, PO Box 14516, SF, CA 94114 or Click HERE to pay by PayPal (MasterCard, Visa, AMEX & Discover) 0

ASIFA International

ASIFA was formed in 1960 by an international group of animators to coordinate, further the interests, and increase world-wide visibility of the animated film. ASIFA’s membership includes animation professionals and fans from more than 50 countries. ASIFA sponsors animation festivals in Annecy, Ottawa, Zagreb, and Hiroshima. Benefits of international membership include: A one year subscription to ASIFA NEWS, ASIFA International’s official publication. The opportunity to vote on issues and candidates for the ASIFA Board of Directors, at meetings held at every ASIFA-sponsored animation festival. Notification of international animation festivals, and discounts on admission to international festivals.

For both local AND international one-year membership, send $47 to: ASIFA-SF, PO Box 14516, SF, CA 94114 or Click HERE to pay by PayPal (MasterCard, Visa, AMEX & Discover)  

ASIFA IS AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION ASIFA IS MANY DIFFERENT THINGS – ASIFA-AUSTRIA IS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM US CHAPTERS by KC I have been talking with Thomas Renoldner <renoldner@asifa.net> via e-mailing. He became our international ASIFA President in March 2002. He wrote me, “ASIFA-Austria was formed 20 years ago and today it has 30 members. It provides members an animation and sound studio for their use, it organizes workshops and screenings, guides scientific research into Austrian animated film history, sends films to festivals, has a video and book archive and is active with other projects.” One of their projects is running the excellent international ASIFA website (http://asifa.net). Another project of the chapter is organizing an international animated film festival to be held in Vienna. It is too early to announce details about the proposed event. One of their publications is “a little booklet that ASIFA published about the history of Austrian animation between 1920 and 1970 – This project was made in connection with ‘100 years of cinema’ celebrations in Europe.” It turns out Austria’s commercial animation industry existed from 1920 to 1970. The present movement of celebrating animation as a personal or independent art form began in 1984 when the Academy of Applied Arts opened its Studio for Experimental Animation. Today, animation is alive and well in Austria and they are quite proud that Copy Shop by Virgil Widrich was nominated for an Oscar in 2002 in the short film category. The film combines “all kinds of digital techniques and finally was recorded using a 35mm animation stand from paper prints.” On a personal note I told him how much I enjoyed my stay in Linz, Austria in 1968. It turns out he was born there in 1960 and lived in this delightful town on the banks of the Danube until he was 20. I was charmed by the cafes along the river, the delightful food, and the people. I loved Linz’s wonderful baroque and rococo architecture, especially a small rococo church we chanced to discover a few miles up river from the town.

THE INTERNATIONAL ADMINISTRATION OF ASIFA NEEDS SIGNED PROXIES FROM PEOPLE WHO PAID INTERNATIONAL DUES FOR 2003 ($44, NOT JUST THE $22 FOR LOCAL MEMBERSHIP) Thomas Renoldner, the international’s president, has asked that we notify our members of proposed changes that will be discussed at the Extraordinary General Assembly (EGA) at the Annecy 2003 festival. He says things have changed since ASIFA was founded in Annecy around 1960 by an international group of animation artists including Norman McLaren. Since then many things have changed, but not our organizational structure. He says the present organizational structure seems to be based on an old concept and does not reflect the fact that ASIFA is a series of local groups whose members motivation comes mainly from what they get back from the group. Consequently it is my opinion that the “international” should better organize the communication and cooperation between these groups, and further projects that we can do together “on an international level. After numerous discussions about the situation the president proposes a change of the “political” system from a direct democracy to a representative democracy. The former (also called “basic” democracy) has proven its value in small communities, where everyone knows everyone, communication profits from short range and mostly everybody is concerned by most of the issues, but finds its limits when the “body” it is designed for grows too big or too complicated. The latter (also named “parlamentary” democracy) is the system most widely used in the political world – the way most democratic countries have organized their citizen’s participation in the election and decision making process. To give a concrete example: Today a big part of the ASIFA membership comes from the United States, but on the international ASIFA Board only two representative from USA are allowed. In the future I would like to see from each ASIFA Chapter in the USA one representative on the international ASIFA Board. So, ASIFA San Francisco should have its own delegate, like ASIFA Hollywood, ASIFA Central, ASIFA Northwest, etc. I believe, that this way we can form a stronger feeling of identification of all our members. At present all ASIFA members vote on the candidates for the International ASIFA Board, but – frankly speaking – they don’t know them. The result of the last ASIFA General Assembly showed the weak sides of the old structure. Only 12 candidates had the needed 50% of the votes, and many important chapters (like e.g. Switzerland, Italy and others) lost their representation on the ASIFA Board. He want to have people from all ASIFA groups on the board, so all members can influence what ASIFA is doing on the international level. While he believes in the original idea and spirit of ASIFA, to promote the art of animation and to build an international network of animation enthusiasts, still is important today, he believes that the organizational structure has to be adopted to the needs of the present. At the EGA in Annecy he will need 33% of the member present or represented by proxy in order to change the ASIFA Statutes. You can attend the meetings in Annecy and vote, can sign and mail your proxy to Vesna Dovnickovic, the ASIFA General Secretary (she lives in Croatia); or you can give them to any member who is going to Annecy. For details about the new structure visit: http://asifa.net. or http://asifa.net/new.structure WHAT OTHER

INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS SAY ABOUT THE PROPOSED CHANGES by KC

I am not very familiar with the workings of ASIFA on the international level, so I asked several people who have been part of the process to comment. I do know that past boards have had many members who were elected to them and than did little or nothing to help ASIFA grow (some never showed up again after being elected to the board). I also realize that it is not how the board works as a body, but what work people actually do that makes ASIFA grow. The first I mail I got back was from a present board member. It said, “I am in favor of the proposal. Its been developed by Thomas with input from the board over the course of many months. I believe that it eliminates the dead weight of unaccountable board members. Although I am not going to Annecy, I am going to proxy my vote to someone who is.” The second reply, from a former board member, said, “I’m behind Thomas’ new proposal. Ideally it will ensure that ASIFA does something more in the future. Basically its creating a parliamentary system of sorts…and it is, in my view, bringing the chapters closer together and giving them more say/representation on the international board.” “The only downside to it is that ASIFA still needs strong volunteers and they haven’t had that in years. The ‘executive’ board itself will be smaller. Thomas is acknowledging that only a small group actually get any work done….but by expanding this parliamentary board… directly involving chapter representatives in the actions of the international board, that makes so much sense to me. I’ve never understood why every chapter was not continued on back page represented in some fashion on the international board. This new system will hopefully improve communication across the whole of ASIFA.” Another former member of the board said, “TRUST THOMAS.” He pointed out that what makes ASIFA work now are the local groups that are active and have meaningful agendas. He hopes the new plan will get more people involved in building a stronger international. The president of ASIFA Central says, “What this does is lets representation grow from where there is member interest and involvement. It recognizes that there are strong chapters in the world, and that chapter energy is what keeps ASIFA alive and vital. It makes the board more representative in terms of being a voice for all members, rather than the arbitrary limiting of members per country. It also will provide a conduit for communication across chapters, as chapter representatives meet and share information within this international context. ASIFA needs to do something to make a more active board, and I think this is a wonderful, fair and equitable scenario. I think it will work. I support it without reservations.” The last former board member that I heard from said he liked the plan, but he added that most ideas need volunteers and/or financial support to turn them into projects that work. I suggest that people who have paid their international dues and who are not going to Annecy, should support the reorganization plan by signing your proxy and naming Sarah Fay Krom, president of ASIFA-Atlanta as your representative. She is going to Annecy and has agreed to represent our interests. Send signed forms to Sara Fay Krom before May 20 at 1126 Brookhaven Commons Drive, Atlanta GA 30319

Questions? Contact Karl Cohen (415) 386-1004 or karlcohen@earthlink.net